5 world class players who first impressed at the U-21 European Championship

1) Andrea Pirlo – Italy

Andrea Pirlo won the U-21 Euros in 2000 with Italy

Before he was taking penalties for the senior national team, Andrea Pirlo was taking them for the U-21 team, even scoring from the spot in the U-21 Euros in 2000. Everyone remembers how he chipped Joe Hart at Euro 2012 with a Panenka that suddenly became popular worldwide. But he had consigned England to defeat in 2000 in the very first group game when he scored from the spot.

Pirlo was undoubtedly the star of the tournament as he captained the Azzurri to the title. The highlight of his tournament was the final where he scored both goals in a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in typical Pirlo fashion – via a penalty and a free-kick.

The Italian midfielder at the time played in a more attacking role before establishing himself as a central midfielder or regista. And that tournament saw the birth of a star as Pirlo also went home with the Golden Player award (Best Player of the tournament) and the Golden Boot (top scorer with 3 goals).